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United States Patent 5,194,380
Matsuyama ,   et al. March 16, 1993
Process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid

Abstract

Optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid can be obtained by treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid with an optionally treated microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing the 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby asymmetrically reduce the same into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid.

Inventors: Matsuyama; Akinobu (Niigata, JP); Takase; Ichiro (Hyogo, JP); Ueda; Yoichiro (Hyogo, JP); Kobayashi; Yoshinori (Niigata, JP)
Assignee: Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Sakai, JP)
Appl. No.: 459787
Filed: March 1, 1990
PCT Filed: July 11, 1989
PCT NO: PCT/JP89/00698
371 Date: March 1, 1990
102(e) Date: March 1, 1990
PCT PUB.NO.: WO90/00613
PCT PUB. Date: January 25, 1990
Foreign Application Priority Data
Jul 12, 1988[JP]63-173469
Jul 12, 1988[JP]63-173470
Oct 07, 1988[JP]63-253020

Current U.S. Class: 435/146; 435/280; 435/822; 435/827; 435/830; 435/836; 435/840; 435/843; 435/850; 435/852; 435/853; 435/857; 435/873; 435/874; 435/885; 435/911; 435/921; 435/930
Intern'l Class: C12P 007/42; C12R 001/22; C12R 001/01; C12R 001/645
Field of Search: 435/146,280,822,824,830,836,840,843,850,852,853,857,873,824,885,911,921,930

References Cited
Foreign Patent Documents
61-87640Oct., 1984JP.


Other References

Biotech Abs 85-12678 (J60156394) Aug. 1985.
Biotech Abs 90-05694 (J02016987) Jan. 1990.
Biotech Abs 89-14981 (WO8907147) Aug. 1989.
Biotech Abs 90-03378 (EP-347374) Dec. 1989.
Nerdel et al. (1956) Chem. Ber., 89:671-677.

Primary Examiner: Lilling; Herbert J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch
Claims


What is claimed is:

1. A process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl butenoic acid, which comprises:

a) treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid with a microorganism capable of symmetrically reducing said 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, wherein said microorganism is a viable cell, or wherein said microoganism has been ground, treated with acetone, or lyophilized;

wherein said microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid is selected from among those belonging to the genera Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Sporolactobacillus, Pediococcus, Arthrobacter, Agrobacterium, Ambrosiozyma, Achromobacter, Arthroascus, Aureobacterium, Bacillus, Botryoascus, Brevibacterium, Candida, Clavispora, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Geotrichum, Hansenula, Kluyveromyces, Lipomyces, Lodderomyces, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Saccharomycopsis, Schizosaccharomyces, Stephanoascus, Torulaspora, Trigonopsis, Wickerhamiella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Xanthomonas; and

b) recovering said (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid.

2. A process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl butenoic acid, which comprises:

a) treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid capable of symmetrically reducing said 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, wherein said microorganism is a viable cell, or wherein said microorganism has been ground, treated with acetone, or lyophilized;

wherein said microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid is selected from among those belonging to the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, and Streptococcus; and

b) recovering said (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid.

3. A process as claimed in claim 2, wherein said microorganism is immobilized.
Description


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid. More particularly, it relates to a process for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid which comprises treating 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid with an optionally treated microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing the 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, and collecting the (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid thus formed.

Optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid is an important intermediate in the production of various drugs, optically active and physiologically active substances, and derivatives thereof.

Further, optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid, which is an important intermediate in the production of drugs such as ACE inhibitors, can be readily obtained by bringing optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid into contact with a hydrogenation catalyst such as palladium in a hydrogen atmosphere.

PRIOR ART

Known methods for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid include one which comprises treating a racemic mixture of said acid with bornylamine to thereby form diastereomers and then optically resolving the same [cf. Chem. Ber., 89, 671-677 (1956)], and another one comprising optical resolution through liquid chromatography with the use of a packing comprising a carrier containing a metal salt of an optically active amino acid bound thereto (cf. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 87640/1986). However, the former method requires a complicated procedure, which makes it undesirable from an industrial viewpoint. On the other hand, the latter method is disadvantageous from an economic viewpoint. Thus, it has been necessary to develop a simple and economical method therefor. In addition, no process has been described for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid from 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid by using a microorganism capable of asymmetrically reducing the 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have developed asymmetric reduction with a microorganism as a process for readily producing optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid of high optical purity, and attempted to discover microorganisms suitable for this purpose. As a result, they have determined that a microorganism belonging to the genus Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Streptococcus, Sporolactobacillus, Pediococcus, Arthrobacter, Agrobacterium, Ambrosiozyma, Achromobacter, Arthroascus, Aureobacterium, Bacillus, Botryoascus, Brevibacterium, Candida, Clavispora, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Geotrichum, Hansenula, Kluyveromyces, Lipomyces, Lodderomyces, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Saccharomycopsis, Schizosaccharomyces, Stephanoascus, Torulaspora, Trigonopsis, Wickerhamiella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella or Xanthomonas can asymmetrically reduce 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby give (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, and that a microorganism belonging to the genus Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc or Streptococcus can asymmetrically reduce 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby give (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid, thus completing the present invention.

In the present invention, therefore, any microorganism belonging to the genus Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Streptococcus, Sporolactobacillus, Pediococcus, Arthrobacter, Agrobacterium, Ambrosiozyma, Achromobacter, Arthroascus, Aureobacterium, Bacillus, Botryoascus, Brevibacterium, Candida, Clavispora, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Geotrichum, Hansenula, Kluyveromyces, Lipomyces, Lodderomyces, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Saccharomycopsis, Schizosaccharomyces, Stephanoascus, Torulaspora, Trigonopsis, Wickerhamiella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella or Xanthomonas and capable of asymmetrically reducing 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby give (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid or any one belonging to the genus Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc or Streptococcus and capable of asymmetrically reducing 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid to thereby give (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid can be used.

Particular examples of a microorganism capable of producing (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid from 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid include Lactobacillus lactis AHU 1059, Streptococcus faecalis IFO 12964, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum IFO 3349, Pediococcus acidilactici NRIC 1102, Sporolactobacillus inulinus NRIC 1133, Arthrobacter citreus IAM 12341, Agrobacterium radiobacter IFO 12664, Ambrosiozyma cicatricosa IFO 1846, Ambrosiozyma platypodis IFO 1471, Achromobacter

pestifer ATCC 23584, Arthroascus javanensis IFO 1848, Aureobacterium testaceum IFO 12675, Bacillus licheniformis IFO 12200, Botryoascus synnaedendrus IFO 1604, Brevibacterium iodinum IFO 3558, Candida parapsilosis IFO 1396, Candida rugosa IFO 0750, Clavispora lusitaniae IFO 1019, Corynebacterium glutanicum ATCC 13032, Flavobacterium suaveolens IFO 3752, Geotrichum candidum IFO 4601, Hansenula fabianii IFO 1253, Kluyveromyces lactis IFO 1903, Lipomyces starkeyi IFO 1289, Lodderomyces elongisporus IFO 1676, Proteus vulgaris IFO 3167, Pseudomonas aureotaciens IFO 3522, Saccharomycopsis lipolytica IFO 1550, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera IFO 0103, Schizosaccharomyces octosporus IFO 0353, Stephanoascus ciferrii IFO 1854, Torulaspora delbrueckii IFO 0381, Trigonopsis variabillis IFO 0755, Wickerhamiella domercquii IFO 1857, Enterobacter aerogenes AHU 1338, Klebsiella pneumoniae IAM 1063 and Xanthomonas oryzae IAM 1657.

On a other hand, examples of the microorganism capable of producing (S)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid from 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid include Lactobacillus plantrum IFO 3070, Streptococcus lactis NRIC 1149 and Leuconostoc mesenteroides AHU 1416.

These microorganisms may be either wild strains, variants, or recombinants obtained through genetic engineering techniques such as cell fusion or gene manipulation.

The microorganisms having IFO numbers assigned thereto are described in the List of Cultures, 8th ed., vol. 1 (1988) published by the Institute for Fermentation, Osaka (IFO) and are available therefrom. Those having AHU numbers are described in the Catalogue of Cultures, 4th ed. (1987) published by Japan Federation of Culture Collection (JFCC) and are available from the Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University. Further, those having ATCC numbers are described in the Catalogue of Bacteria Phages rDNA Vectors, 16th ed. (1985) published by American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and are available therefrom. Those having NRIC numbers are described in the Culture Collection of NODAI No. 1 (1985) published by Tokyo University of Agriculture and are available therefrom. Those having IAM numbers are available form the Institute of Applied Microbiology, the University of Tokyo.

In order to culture the microorganism to be used in the present invention, any medium may be used without restriction, so long as said microorganism can grow therein. For example, any carbon source available for said microorganism may be used. Examples thereof include sugars such as glucose, fructose, sucrose and dextrin; alcohols such as sorbitol, ethanol and glycerol; organic acids such as fumaric acid, citric acid, acetic acid and propionic acid and salts thereof; hydrocarbons such as paraffin; and mixtures thereof. Examples of a nitrogen source include ammonium salts of inorganic acids, such as ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate and ammonium phosphate; ammonium salts of organic acids, such as ammonium fumarate and ammonium citrate; organic or inorganic nitrogen-containing compounds such as meat extract, yeast extract, corn steep liquor, casein hydrolyzate and urea; and mixtures thereof. The medium may further contain appropriate nutritional sources commonly employed in culturing microorganisms, for example, inorganic salts, trace metal salts and vitamins. Furthermore, a growth promoter for the microorganism, a factor capable of elevating the productivity of the target compound of the present invention, or a substance effective in maintaining the pH value of the medium at a desired level may be added thereto.

The culture may be conducted at a pH value of from 3.5 to 9.5, preferably from 4 to 8, at a temperature of from 20.degree. to 45.degree. C., preferably from 25.degree. to 37.degree. C., under aerobic or anaerobic conditions suitable for each microorganism for from 5 to 120 hours, preferably from 12 to 72 hours.

The reduction may be conducted by using the culture medium as such. Alternately, the cells may be separated by, for example, centrifuging, and optionally washed. Then the cells are resuspended in a buffer solution or water, and 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid is added to the suspension thus obtained and reacted therewith. In this reaction, it is sometimes preferable to add a carbon source such as glucose or sucrose to thereby supply energy. The cells may be used as such in the form of viable cells. Alternately, they may be those which have been ground, treated with acetone or lyophilized. These optionally treated cells may be immobilized prior to the use by a conventional method, for example, the polyacrylamide gel method, the sulfur-containing polysaccharide gel method (the carrageenan gel method), the alginic acid gel method or the agar gel method. Furthermore, an enzyme obtained from said treated cells by combining known methods may be used therefor.

The 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid may be used as such. Alternately, it may be dissolved in water or an inert organic solvent, or dispersed in a surfactant. It may be added either at once at the initiation of the reaction, or in portions. The 2-oxo-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid may be used in the form of various salts such as ammonium, sodium, calcium or potassium salts.

The reaction may be conducted at a pH value of from 3 to 9, preferably from 5 to 8, at from 10.degree. to 60.degree. C., preferably from 20.degree. to 40.degree. C., for from 1 to 120 hours with or without stirring. It is preferable that the concentration of the substrate ranges from 0.1 to 10%, though it is not restricted thereby.

The optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid thus formed may be collected directly from the reaction mixture or after separating the cells. It may be extracted with an organic solvent and then purified by a common method such as column chromatography or recrystallization.

According to the process of the present invention for the production of optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid by using a microorganism, optically active 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid of a high optical purity can be readily produced. Thus it is highly advantageous as an industrial process.

EXAMPLES

To further illustrate the present invention, and not by way of limitation, the following Examples will be given.

In the following Examples, the absolute configuration and optical purity of the reaction product were determined by extracting the reaction product with ethyl acetate and subjecting the product to high-performance liquid chromatography with the use of an optical resolution column [column: Chiral-pack WH (mfd. by Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd., packed with silica gel containing copper salt of L-proline bound thereto), 4.6 mm (i.d.).times.250 mm, solvent: 0.5 mM CuSO.sub.4 /acetonitrile=4:1, flow rate: 1.5 ml/min, detection: at 254 nm]. The reaction yield was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with the use of a reverse-phase column [column: Nucleosil 10C18, 4.6 mm (i.d.).times.250 mm, solvent: 40 mM potassium phosphate solution (pH 3.0)/acetonitrile =4:1, flow rate: 1 ml/min, detection: at 254 nm].

Example 1

A medium comprising 2% of glucose, 1% of yeast extract, 1% of peptone, 10 ppm of MnSO.sub.4 and 1% of calcium carbonate was used for lactic acid bacteria; a medium comprising 1% of glucose, 0.5% of yeast extract, 0.5% of peptone, 0.5% of meat extract and 0.5% of NaCl (pH 7) was used for other bacteria; and a medium comprising 2% of glucose, 0.3% of yeast extract, 0.5% of peptone and 0.3% of malt extract (pH 6) was used for yeasts. 100 ml of each medium was introduced into a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask and sterilized. Then one platinum loopful of each strain listed in Table 1 was inoculated into the corresponding medium and subjected to rotary shaking culture for 48 hours. After the completion of the culture, the cells were separated by centrifuging and washed with a physiological saline solution once to thereby yield viable cells. 50 ml of distilled water was introduced into a 500-ml Erlenmeyer flask and the above-mentioned viable cells were suspended therein. After adding 5 g of sucrose and 0.5 g of calcium carbonate thereto, the mixture was shaken at 30.degree. C. for 10 minutes. Then 0.5 g of potassium 2-keto-4-phenyl-3-butenoate was added thereto and the mixture was allowed to react under shaking at 30.degree. C. for 40 hours. After the completion of the reaction, the pH value of the reaction mixture was adjusted to 1 or below with sulfuric acid. It was then extracted with 100 ml of ethyl acetate, and the solvent was removed from the extract. Then the amount and optical purity of the (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid thus formed were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Table 1 summarizes the results. 

                  TABLE 1
    ______________________________________
                    Yield of    Optical purity of
                    (R)-2-hydroxy-
                                (R)-2-hydroxy-4-
                    4-phenyl-3- phenyl-3-butenoic
                    butenoic acid
                                acid
    Strain          (%)         (% e.e.)
    ______________________________________
    Lactobacillus lactis
                    11           67
    AHU 1059
    Streptococcus faecalis
                    14           62
    IFO 12964
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides
                    92          100
    subsp. dextranicum IFO 3349
    Pediococcus acidilactici
                    10          100
    NRIC 1102
    Sporolactobacillus
                    16           68
    inulinus NRIC 1133
    Lactobacillus lactis
                    16          100
    ATCC 12315
    Lactobacillus   14           46
    Viridescens ATCC 12706
    Leuconostoc dextranicum
                    96          100
    ATCC 17072
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides
                    93          100
    AHU 1067
    Arthrobacter citreus
                    20          100
    IAM 12341
    Agrobacterium radiobacter
                    13          100
    IFO 12664
    Ambrosiozyma cicatricosa
                    11          100
    IFO 1846
    Ambrosiozyma    10          100
    platypodis IFO 1471
    Achromobacter pestifer
                    15          100
    ATCC 23584
    Arthroascus javanensis
                    12           32
    IFO 1848
    Aureobacterium testaceum
                    12           20
    IFO 12675
    Bacillus licheniformis
                    10          100
    IFO 12200
    Botryoascus synnaedendrus
                    13          100
    IFO 1604
    Brevibacterium iodinum
                    15          100
    IFO 3558
    Candida parapsilosis
                    19          100
    IFO 1396
    Saccharomycopsis lipolytica
                    12          100
    IFO 1550
    Saccharomycopsis fibuligera
                    13          100
    IFO 0103
    schizosaccharomyces
                    10          100
    octosporus IFO 0353
    Stephanoascus ciferrii
                    19          100
    IFO 1854
    Torulaspora delbrueckii
                    14          100
    IFO 0381
    Trigonopsis variabillis
                    15          100
    IFO 0755
    Wickerhamiella domercquii
                    11           95
    IFO 1857
    Enterobacter aerogenes
                    13           94
    AHU 1338
    Klebsiella pneumoniae
                    12           70
    IAM 1063
    Xanthomonas oryzae AIM
                    11          100
    1657
    Lactobacillus plantrum
                    24           99
    IFO 3070
    Streptococcus lactis
                    32           49
    NRIC 1149
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides
                    14          100
    AHU 1416
    Candida rugosa IFO 0750
                    17          100
    Clavispora lusitaniae
                    16          100
    IFO 1019
    Corynebacterium 11           93
    glutamicum ATCC 13032
    Flavobacterium suaveolens
                    11           70
    IFO 3752
    Geotrichum candidum
                    19          100
    IFO 4601
    Hansenula facianii IFO 1253
                    13          100
    Kluyveromyces lactis
                    14          100
    IFO 1903
    Lipomyces starkeyi IFO
                    10           83
    1289
    Lodderomyces elongisporus
                    14          100
    IFO 1676
    Proteus vulgaris IFO 3167
                    10          100
    Pseudomonas aureotaciens
                    11          100
    IFO 3522
    ______________________________________


Example 2

2 l of the same medium as that used in Example 1 contained in a 5-l jar fermenter was inoculated with Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum IFO 3349. The strain was cultured at 30.degree. C. under stirring at 100 rpm for 40 hours. After the completion of the culture, the cells were collected by centrifuging and washed with 1 l of water. Then these cells were suspended in 500 ml of water, and 5 g of potassium 2-keto-4-phenyl-3-butenoate, 50 g of glucose and 4 g of calcium carbonate were added thereto. The obtained mixture was allowed to react at 30.degree. C. under stirring for 48 hours and then the pH value thereof was adjusted to 1 or below with sulfuric acid. Then it was extracted with the same amount of ethyl acetate twice. The ethyl acetate phase was dehydrated over anhydrous Galuber's salt and the 7 solvent was removed therefrom under reduced pressure. Thus 4.0 g of 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid were obtained in the form of crude crystals. By recrystallizing from ethanol, 3.8 g of crystals of (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid were obtained (optical purity: 100% e.e., yield: 93%).

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